George Clooney has a plan, and his old drinking buddy Brad Pitt, 45, isn’t part of it. “George is trying to get booze out of his life completely,” a pal of George, 48, tells OK!. “He didn’t invite Brad to Italy this past summer, because he didn’t want to get sucked into an endless drinking session.”

A no-show on the Hollywood party circuit for most of this year, George instead hosted a more temperate Matt Damon, 39, and his wife, Luciana, at his Lake Como hideaway in Italy in a bid to get serious for new girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis, 31.

“He’s not trying to anger Brad,” reasons the source, “but what he is thinking about is his future.

The plan calls for George to cut drinking out of his life completely by New Year’s Eve. “He’s told people that he’s going to slow down,” says the friend.

“He’s had a lot of fun over the years, but as he gets closer to 50, he really wants to live a healthier and more balanced life. It’s funny that Brad is the family man but seems to party as much as he wants to, while George is the single guy with the ultimate bachelor lifestyle who has decided he never wants to have more than one drink a day.”